DOJ: Alice Guo not qualified for Witness Protection Program at this time

MANILA — Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo “still stands as the most guilty” in the illegal gambling operations in her hometown in Tarlac, Department of Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said on Saturday.

Clavano gave the statement when asked if Guo — arrested in Indonesia earlier this month after sneaking out of the Philippines in July — can be placed under the Witness Protection Program.

“As of right now, she still stands as the most guilty, thereby not making her qualified,” Clavano said in a news forum.

“But kung matumbok natin at may makilala pa tayo na mas malaking tao, then she may qualify,” he said.

(But if we see that there is someone higher yup involved in this, then she may qualify.)

“It will also depend on the willingness of former Mayor Alice Guo to cooperate with the law enforcement and the authorities,” he added.

Guo, who is facing human trafficking and graft cases, earlier asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for help, saying that she has been receiving death threats.

“Hindi niya nasabi sa amin kung sino itong mga taong nag threa-threaten sa kaniya,” Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. told reporters.

(She did not say who is threatening her.)

“Ang sabi lang niya kung puwede namin magarantiya ang kaniyang buhay,” he said.

(She just said that maybe we could guarantee her safety.)

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) earlier said that the Guo family has gambling businesses in Cambodia, and may be connected to triads in Southeast Asia.

“Anything is very possible at this point,” Abalos said, he said, adding that what authorities found in the raided POGO hub in Bamban make it "very possible".

He said that he does not believe that Guo acted alone in the POGO operations.

Guo has herself denied involvement in human trafficking, torture and investment scams that authorities believe happened at the Bamban POGO hub.

The former Bamban mayor is facing charges before a court in Tarlac and the Ombudsman. The Office of the Solicitor General has filed a petition to cancel her certificate of live birth, while the Anti-Money Laundering Council has issued a freeze order on her bank accounts and assets amounting to some P28 billion.

Guo — who is detained in police headquarters Camp Crame — is expected to attend a Senate investigation next week to shed light on the operations of illegal gambling syndicates in the Philippines.